It is a common practice for individuals to apply fragrance or perfume to themselves, their clothing or their environment, as part of a personal hygiene regime. The rapid dissipation and evaporation of a fragrance after first application on a wearer's body requires re-application of the fragrance by the wearer. A person can carry a fragrance bottle for re-application throughout the day; however, this method can be inconvenient and cumbersome. A separate container is required to hold the fragrance, which must be carried by the wearer. There is a need for a convenient and attractive means of re-application of a fragrance.
In response to this problem, a number of arrangements have been disclosed which provide for personal jewelry that dispenses a fragrance. The principal benefit of jewelry that dispenses a fragrance is that the user is not required to carry a separate fragrance bottle or other dispenser in order to reapply a fragrance.
Some arrangements permit constant emissions of the fragrance from the personal jewelry, generally through diffusion of a scent through openings in the jewelry over time. Other arrangements include outlets which permit the slow dissemination of a fragrance from a reservoir to the body part in contact with the jewelry. These arrangements can be problematic, however. They typically do not permit the wearer to apply or re-apply the fragrance on the wearer's body. In addition, there is little control over the rate at which the fragrance is diffused, which may result in the scent being either too weak or too strong. The wearer cannot control the intensity of the fragrance or apply the fragrance upon demand.
There are a number of designs which require the removal of a control element to permit application of a fragrance on the body by the wearer, or to control the rate of diffusion of the constantly fragrance-emitting jewelry. However, the use of the removable element to apply a fragrance can be awkward for a number of reasons. The control elements tend to be quite small, and generally comprise small pins or rods. These can be difficult to manipulate, and may be easily lost by the wearer.
The use of a spray pump in a fluid dispenser to permit application of a fragrance on the body is known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 4,023,712 discloses a spray container device for spraying sprayable compositions which is suspended around a wearer's neck. Such arrangements utilize a fluid dispenser with spray pump, however, the fluid dispenser does not form an integral part of the jewelry, and comprises a cap or lid which may be lost. U.S. Pat. No. 5,217,143 discloses an actuator mechanism for a fluid dispenser using a spray pump incorporated into a bangle, however, this arrangement is not easily or readily transferrable to other forms of jewelry.
It is desirable to provide a spray fluid dispenser in the form of a jewel, which can be incorporated into jewelry. This permits the use of a jewel shaped fluid dispenser in the production of diverse jewelry pieces, such as rings, earrings, brooches, pendants and the like.